


Codename: Agent Barnes

by captainrum



Series: A dangerous new life [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Crack, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14639382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainrum/pseuds/captainrum
Summary: It's Veteran's Day at school, and Steve is being honored during the assembly which sounds easy. Unless you're dating a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent then it gets complicated.





	Codename: Agent Barnes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [Captain Hot Perfect Teacher](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1492894). I've never had a reason to write a follow-up to that story until last week a lovely reader left me a comment with a sequel idea: "Steve gets honored at the school's annual Veteran's Day assembly for the parents and school staff who have served and everyone is surprised that Steve is a veteran and Bucky isn't." I didn't take their prompt verbatim, but I think I captured the spirit. Plus, after Infinity War, getting Steve and Bucky out of danger sounded like a plan.
> 
> This may contain errors/mistakes. For me, it's hard to track down a beta-reader since I'm hardly in fandom spaces these days. 
> 
> Also while I'm here, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has ever read, commented, or kudo'd my fic. I hope you enjoy this.

"Mr. Rogers…uh…Steve, did you tell Dad?" Scott asked, fumbling sheepishly over his words, as he checked the red Spider-man watch on his wrist. Even though Scott was two months into his sixth grade year, which meant he'd been out of Steve's classroom for well over five, the boy had yet to become fully comfortable calling Steve anything but Mr. Rogers, especially at school. His former teacher _was_ dating his dad, a weird enough situation in itself, so Steve tended to excuse any lingering awkwardness. 

"I told him three times, and I sent him a follow-up email. _He knows_ ," Steve said with a soft sigh, trying not to let frustration slip into his voice. 

The award didn't mean anything, or so he kept telling himself. There was something superficial about all the pomp and circumstance of his school district's Veteran's Day celebration. The waving American flags. The patriotic music being butchered by the student wind symphony. Clearly, someone in the administration had a point to make this year about honoring their country's military, and Steve wasn't certain it had anything to do with _honor_.

Still, he remembered his service with pride, and he never would've turned down the invitation to participate with the other staff and teachers from across the district who were veterans. There were enough that between the students and staff and community members, the auditorium was at max capacity.

"He'll be here. He always is," Scott reassured Steve in a knowing tone. 

It was tough dating a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and even tougher being the son of one. They were used to this, but that didn't make it any easier for Steve to see all the other honorees with their husbands and wives and partners. While he and Scott stood on the edges looking crestfallen about the fact that their trio was missing a chunk.

Steve patted Scott on the shoulder and lifted the edges of his mouth into something close to a genuine smile. "It's okay if he isn't. Let's just hope everything is alright, and I'll give Agent Hill a call once the assembly is over just to be certain." 

At precisely ten o'clock, a hush rippled through the audience as Superintendent Faustus approached the podium to a squeaky yet surprisingly in-tune rendition of _The Stars and Stripes Forever_. Cheesy speeches aside, Steve couldn't find fault in the presentation that morning. They'd commissioned students, young and old, to speak about the importance of service and honoring veterans. Near the end, even Steve felt the tickle of tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.

Halfway through the assembly came the reason Steve had donned his best dress shirt and loafers that morning for work. The district had orchestrated a huge pictorial display with photographs of each honoree's military photo. Steve found his, embarrassingly enough, smack-dab in the middle. Over-the-top and wasteful? Sure, considering he spent plenty of his own money to furnish his classroom every year. But, one by one, they were all going to be recognized on stage then have a portrait taken with their families. 

Names were now being called off alphabetically. Since he was in the R's, Steve had a bit of time to wait. And with a frown, he found himself searching the crowd for a recognizable face. One in particular. He couldn't say it wasn't like Bucky to miss a date, but it _wasn't_ like him not to call and profusely apologize. 

Often while in extreme danger but still. He called.

Instead of his boyfriend, he did find Sharon Carter and Sam Wilson in the audience, both smiling and pointing cellphone cameras in his direction.

Steve rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance and turned his attention back to the ceremony. Before he knew it, he was the next one in line. He straightened his tie and put one foot on the bottom step of the stairs to head up to the stage. 

"Steve—"

Dr. Faustus's voice announcing Steve was entirely drowned out by the sound of metal being banged opened in the back of the auditorium. Impressive considering a microphone was being used. 

The pit in Steve's stomach, already open from worry, widened further, but he plastered on his patented everything's-under-control smile and continued walking up on stage. As he went to receive his plaque from Dr. Faustus, from the corner of his eye, he witnessed utter chaos at the edges of the auditorium. 

Bucky running through the left aisle, one hand fixing his tie, the other arm shrugging through the sleeves of his suit jacket. Natasha trailing behind him to brush at his hair. 

Everyone in the room was staring at them, and in the dead silence, Steve heard Sam say, "You owe me twenty bucks, Sharon."

As he approached the podium, Steve ignored all of the commotion. "Thank you, sir," he said, holding out his hand to shake. "I appreciate the honor."

But, Dr. Faustus did not shake his hand. Instead, he looked at Steve in an open-mouth stare. Steve thought it was probably because the man that had just inappropriately and loudly interrupted this perfect presentation was now on stage. Bucky and Scott were innocently waiting at the photo backdrop to take their family portrait. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Dr. Faustus whispered viciously, covering the microphone with his hand so the audience couldn't hear the accusatory anger in his voice. On Veteran's Day, it wasn't good to yell at a veteran. 

Steve cleared his throat. "He's with me," he explained.

"Excuse me?"

"Dr. Faustus, that's my boyfriend. He was just late." Steve made a move for the plaque still clutched in the man's hands. "It happens a lot."

"Your boyfriend is sweating."

Steve glanced over his shoulder. "Yes, I see that, sir."

"Bleeding too, perhaps."

Steve shut his eyes, inhaled through his nose, then nodded. "He likely is."

"I see," Dr. Faustus murmured and finally relinquished the plaque. "You better bet I'll have my eye on you the rest of the year, Rogers."

"Thank you again, sir." Steve took his award and walked over to his family. Despite the threat just given to him by the district's superintendent, there was a grin on his face as he sauntered up to Bucky. 

"You're late, Agent Barnes," Steve told him, slipping his arm around his waist. They each placed a hand on Scott's shoulders, and the photographer snapped a photo. _This_ , this portrait was all Steve wanted today. 

After their turn, they exited the stage and stood off to the side with the rest of the families waiting for the remainder of the names to be read. 

Things winded down, and Scott gave his dad a big hug. "I knew you'd make it," he said then bounced on his toes. "I'm going to find my friend Shuri! She wants to meet you."

Bucky ruffled his hand through Scott's hair, nodding. "Go ahead, pal." There was a brief pause as he watched his son's retreating form through the crowd until he finally turned back to Steve with a notable tinge of reluctance. "I didn't intend to make an entrance."

"Really?" Steve teased, resting his hand gently against Bucky's neck. "But you're so good at it."

"I planned to be early. Ask Nat."

Steve chuckled as he kissed Bucky on the lips. "It's alright. Now the superintendent knows my name."

"Fuck."

"Language," Steve reprimanded, clearly kidding, but they _were_ standing near where the kindergartners were seated. 

The assembly had ended, and his attention drifted back to that knot in his stomach. "Is everything okay?" he asked, carefully looking away as he readjusted the lapel of Bucky's jacket.

"Don't worry. It was just a—"

"Situation. I know."

There was only a smidge of blood smeared against Bucky's skin, but Steve stared at it for a beat too long. Superintendent Faustus saw blood and thought one of his teachers had a weirdo, troublemaker boyfriend. Steve saw blood and thought about _situations_.

"Steve—"

But, Steve cut him off. They could not talk about this here. "I'm just glad you're alright." He smiled more fully this time, dusting off one last stray speck of dirt from Bucky's collar. "Come on, let's find Scott. And I think there's punch and cookies at the reception."

Bucky looked like he wanted to protest at first, but the interest in his eyes at the mention of food betrayed him. "Well, I am starving."

*****

That night, Steve lounged in his bed surrounded by stacks of homework. The piles of ungraded assignments vastly outnumbered the graded ones much to his dismay. He'd been at this for over two hours already. They were fifth graders! Too much stock was put into homework, he thought. Especially since it was cutting into his Friday night.

And tonight, a night where Scott was back at his mom's, and his boyfriend wasn't out doing dangerous things until the wee hours of the morning, it would've been nice to have a bed free of homework when Bucky appeared in the doorway.

"Hey there, soldier."

Steve looked up in a jolt, his concentration startling at the voice filling the quiet room. Bucky was barefoot and wearing a black cotton t-shirt and pajama bottoms, and just the look of him made Steve smile. 

"Hey, yourself.”

He removed his reading glasses and placed them and his red pen on the nightstand beside the bed. 

Bucky cocked his hip against the doorframe as he smirked at the object in his hands. "Any chance you've still got this in your closet?" He held up the framed picture the school had given them of Steve's military photo. "I'm into a man in uniform."

"Of course, you are." Steve rolled his eyes. "But sorry, you're out of luck."

With a tsk, Bucky placed the frame on the dresser. "Too bad. I had some plans."

"You work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm certain you can figure out a way to get your hands on some army fatigues."

Bucky wagged a finger at him. “Now that's the best idea you've ever had."

Steve watched Bucky begin to neatly stack all his papers on the desk that was by the window. There was no question that he was done working for the night. 

As Bucky turned down the comforter on the other side of the bed, Steve could no longer hold his tongue. "About earlier—"

"Steve, I'm okay. Barely even a scratch."

He was right. Even in their short time dating, there were other times Bucky had returned to Steve in a much worse condition. 

"That's not the point," Steve argued. 

Bucky was turned away, but Steve saw the line of tension down his neck and back. He sighed as he plopped down on the edge of the mattress and glanced over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. You know I hate making you worry," he apologized reaching out to put a hand over Steve's knee. He squeezed.

Steve placed his hand on top, intertwining their fingers. He chose his next words carefully, but he had to get them out. "The funny thing is I know you were alright today, but I still had this fear that something terrible…" He trailed off, letting the silence fill in the blanks. "All of this. I thought it'd be easier, but I didn't know how much you were going to mean to me."

Sometimes Bucky shutdown on the hard stuff, but tonight he had an openness to the expression on his face, absorbing the candor. The man was sharp as a tack, always three steps ahead of everyone else. 

He touched his fingertips to Steve's cheek, taking in a short breathe, and tenderly asked, "What're you saying?"

A beat behind Steve realized why Bucky was staring at him that way, and so he said the words for the first time. "Bucky, I love you. _In love._ I'm in love with you."

Bucky released a drawn out breath, relief and joy swirled inside it. "I was scared you weren’t ever going to say that to me." Then, he kissed Steve, leaning his body over his until they settled together. 

Their conversation had veered off on an unexpected exit, but Steve couldn't help himself. He returned the gesture, savoring the taste of Bucky's mouth on his. He lost his breath, he lost everything in it. 

Seconds later, Bucky made a noise against Steve's mouth. "Mmph. Oh god. I should've—I love you! I love you, too," he said then stole another kiss. "I know why you're scared. If I ever lost you…" 

Before he could finish, Bucky sat up pulling away as he raked his hands over his hair in a nervous gesture. Steve followed suit, his brow wrinkled in confusion, as he waited for Bucky to tell him what was going through his mind.

"I wanted to wait until I knew for sure, but there was a—a job opening. Head of Special Forces Recruitment and Training. Fancy title, but it doesn't mean much. It's just an office job, DC-based. Regular hours, no weekends. So, a couple weeks ago, I asked for a reassignment out of the field. It'll take a month or two to push through, you know how the government is."

Steve's entire body froze in shock. "You did what?!" 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Bucky grimaced and more explanation came tumbling out of his mouth. "I know, I know. It’s—it’s so presumptuous to quit my job. You and me, we've only been together for _six months_. I just know eventually you would've gotten tired of all of this _and_ _me_ so I made a choice."

"That's not true."

"Trust me." Bucky laughed but with no humor behind it. "No agent at S.H.I.E.L.D. has a healthy relationship. Maybe Clint, and he had a damn secret wife for years no one knew about. You and me, we were practically couple royalty at this point."

"You _love_ your job. _I_ love that you love your job." Steve couldn't even fathom Bucky sitting behind a desk all day. It was absurd. 

Bucky had stood up from the bed, and he turned on Steve, hands on his hips. "Tell me when I'm gone you don't wish you had me here every night."

Steve stood up too. He was growing angry, and he didn't know why. He didn't want Bucky to change _for him._ All it'd become was resentment. “You can’t ask me that. Of course, I miss you. That's still no reason to do this."

"What's a better reason than you…Scott…our family….you think I'll miss getting shot at all the time? Bleeding everywhere? Broken bones? Nearly dying?"

With a hard swallow at the gut punch of that description, Steve folded his arms over his chest in defiance. "Yes. Frankly, yes."

"Maybe," Bucky admitted as he took Steve firmly by the biceps. "But I think I need _you_ more than any of that. Steve, I want our goddamn family pictures. I want you. I want to take you out for pizza more than once a month. I want to watch Scott grow up. I want it all so I'm out," he finished then pulled Steve into a warm hug. " _I'm out_."

Pressing his nose down into Bucky's shoulder, Steve didn't know how to respond, overwhelmed by the turning tide tonight, a wave of words propelling them in the direction of a future he hadn't to this point allowed himself to want. 

They held each other for a long time before Steve finally said, "I guess I'll have to find something new to call you, Agent Barnes."

Steve didn't need to see the smirk spread across Bucky's face to know it was there. "Now let's not get too hasty here, Cap."

“Mm. You like it when I call you that, do you?" Steve asked as Bucky pressed a kiss against his neck. 

"Codenames are kinda my thing," Bucky muttered against the heated skin beneath Steve's left ear. Then, they kissed their way over to the bed, discarding their clothes onto the floor, their feet shuffling in a tangled dance. 

After they fell back onto the mattress, Steve peered up at Bucky, settling his hands on his hips. "Yeah? What was that one you and Nat had for me again?"

"Shut up," Bucky huffed, kissing him quiet. 

And, they didn't stop kissing for the rest of the night. 

*****

_One year later._

How was it that the longer the school year went on the earlier six o'clock in the morning seemed to be, Steve asked himself as he brushed his teeth. He flashed a gritted smile in the mirror to ensure he'd brushed away all the remnants of his breakfast. Then, he reached for his watch and the tie that was hanging on the door knob. 

From behind the shower curtain, he heard Bucky's voice, but the detail was drowned out by the noisy sound of water hitting the tile.

"Come out, I can't hear you!” Steve yelled without turning around placing his tie around his neck. He saw Bucky's soapy head appear in the mirror's reflection. 

"I said don't forget Scott has a parent meeting at school this afternoon."

"How could I forget?"

"Hey, at least it's not fighting."

Steve frowned as he fastened his last button done then started to do his tie. "As a professional educator, I have to tell you skipping class to make out with your girlfriend in the janitor's closet isn't much better."

Bucky barked out a hearty laugh, the same laugh he’d had every time they discussed this. "Scott takes after me, what can I say? Anyway, his mom thinks we all need to have the _sex convo_ sooner rather than later so prepare yourself for that," he informed Steve then ducked back in the shower.

Shaking his head, Steve silently lamented the utter pitfalls of raising a seventh grade boy. Then, he told Bucky goodbye and headed off to work. 

*****

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and Steve waited with Scott on the sofa outside the principal's office. Scott looked annoyed, but then when didn't Scott look annoyed these days. There was a good chance the boy was going to receive detention for his antics, and Bucky and Scott's mom were seriously considering taking away his cellphone as punishment. 

"Your dad will be here. He's just running a few minutes late."

Scott snorted. "He always is."

In response, Steve touched the gold band on his finger, out of habit, and perhaps hope that Bucky would show up soon so they could deal with their cranky teenage son _together_.

At precisely that moment, a woman wearing a wrinkle-free pencil skirt and an all-business smile stepped into the waiting room. She had school principal written all over her.

Holding an outstretched hand, she came forward. "Mr. Barnes, I presume?"

"Oh, yes!" Steve shuffled away his magazine and stood up. Technically, it was Rogers-Barnes, but Steve didn't correct her. "My hus—"

The door swung open before Steve could finish the rest of his sentence, and in stumbled the man in question. Of course, there was no unsightly blood or ruined suits or danger.

Just the wild-eyed look of a frazzled Bucky attempting to shush the baby tied around his chest in a grey sling and uncap a milk bottle at the same time. "Sorry, I'm late. There was an emergency babysitter situation."

The woman smiled, shaking her head in a soft dismissal. "Don't worry. It happens all the time. Follow me, gentlemen."

Bucky bounced Sarah in his arms and gestured his head pointedly at Scott. "Alright, pal, you're up," he said in a stern voice.

Scott headed inside the office, his shoulders slouched down looking like a prisoner marching to his death.

Before they followed, Bucky reached out for Steve to kiss him on the cheek. "One day, I'm going to arrive on time for one of these things."

"Don't you dare," Steve warned then cooed a hello at their daughter now feeding on her bottle, comforted at how real their family felt to him in moments like these. 

"What?"

"I've got a bet with Sam going. If you ever change, I lose a hundred bucks."

“Just exactly how much money have you made off me, Steve? And how come I never see a dime of it?" Bucky complained in a scoff as he mopped up a line of milk from Sarah's chin with her bib.

Steve only chuckled, ignoring Bucky’s outrage, as they entered the principal's office together. 


End file.
